Riding-saddle.



No. 809,179. PATENTED'JAN. 2, 1906.

. P. H. PONTAINE.

RIDING SADDLE.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 18, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RIDING-SADDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1906.

Application filed November 18, 1904. Serial No. 233,277.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK H. FONTAINE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bethel Hill, in the county of Person and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Riding-Saddles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in riding-saddles, and more particularly to means for securing the ends of saddle-girths.

The object of the invention is to provide a connecting means between the stirrups and saddle-girth which are so constructed and arranged as to permit the girth to be quickly tightened upon the body of the horse when downward pressure is exerted on the stirrups.

Another object of the invention is to provide a saddle-girth with the ordinary means employed for holding it tightly about the body of a horse and using an auxiliary tightening device in addition to said securing means, so as to permit the girth to be tightened by pressure on the stirrups.

It is well known among horsemen that there is a tendency in animals to expand themselves at the time of tightening the girth, which expansion subsequently disappears; also, that after eating or drinking considerable difiiculty is experienced in drawing the girth sufficiently tight to prevent its subsequent loosening.v Considerable danger is liable to occur as a result of the loosening of the girth, for the reason that a slight shy or sudden movement of the animal is often sufficient, to cause the saddle to turn and throw the rider.

The object of my invention is to mount the stirrups in such a manner as to enable the rider to tighten the girth by the instinctive downward pressure which is invariably exerted upon the stirrups in the event of a sudden movement by the animal ridden.

A further object of the invention is to employ a saddle attachment which is of simple, durable, and inexpensive construction and which can be readily connected to ordinary forms of saddles.

With the above and further objects in view my invention consists in certain novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of saddle, the same being provided with my improved girth attachment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the attachment used in connection with the McClellan form of saddle. Fig. 8 is an enlarged transverse section through the adjoining portions of the stirrup-strap and girth attachment and the parts connecting the same. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing another means of securing a stirrup-strap to the saddle-girth of a McClellan saddle, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified means of connecting a stirrup-strap to the girthof a saddle such as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, 1 is a saddle of the ordinary construction having loops 2 extending from the sides thereof, said loops being similar to those ordinarily employed for attaching the stirrupstrap 3 thereto. In the present invention, however, an attachment is provided whereby the stirrup strap is securely but movably connected to.said loop and is at the same time fastened to the girth 4 of the riding-saddle. The attachment employed for this purpose consists of a strap 5, which is looped at one end, as shown at 6, said loop being made permanent by means of one or more rivets 7, which are secured within the strap. The loop 6 is slidably mounted upon the metallic loop 2 of the saddle and is engaged by a link 8, in which the stirrup-strap 3 is secured. A small block 9 of leather or other suitable material is sewed or otherwise secured in the loop 6 of strap 5 and serves the purpose of a keeper to hold the link 8 in the end of loop 6. This block also has the additional advantage of keeping loop 6 spread apart, so as to prevent the threads 10, which are employed for holding the keeper in place, from ripping out when downward pressure is exerted on the strap 5. The strap 5 is buckled or otherwise secured to the girth 4 of the saddle, and by drawing upon the strap the girth can be tightened about the body of the animal, as in the ordinary constructon of riding-saddle. The act of tightening the girth will of course draw the keeper or block 9 down against the loop 2 and firmly secure the saddle in position. As hereinbefore stated, it is extremely difficult to tighten a girth about a horse, for the reason that the body of the animal expands during such operation, and this exp ansion subsequently disappears and loosens the girth. To overcome this objectionable feature, the stirrup-strap 3 has been connected by me to the loop 6 by means of the link 8. It Will therefore be seen that as soon as downward pressure is exerted upon the stirrup and its strap 3, as in mounting, or when the rider throws his entire weight upon the stirrup the loop 6 is caused to slide in loop 2, thereby drawing the girth upward and tightening it upon the body of the animal.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the attachment applied to the ordinary McClellan saddle. In this construction of riding-saddle the girth 11 is provided with a ring 12, which is supported from the saddle by inclined straps 13. Girth 11 is provided with a buckle (not shown) whereby it may be readily tightened about the body of the animal. In the ordinary form of saddle, however, the girth is not provided with any means for tightening it should it become loose while the rider is in the saddle. My attachment, however, can be easily connected to this form of saddle, as shown. By referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the strap 14 of the attachment is permanently connected to ring 12 and the looped end 15 of the strap, which corresponds in construction to the loop 6 described in connection with Fig. 1, is slidably mounted in saddle-loop 16 and is connected by a link 17 with the stirrup-strap 18. When downward pressure is exerted upon the stirrup and its strap 18, loop 15 will slide forward through the saddle-loop 16 and draw ring12 toward the saddle, thereby tightening the girth 11.

While I preferably employ an attachment such as herein described, I ma if desired, use a stirrup-strap 19 of more t an the ordinary len th, and this strap can be inserted in the sadd e-loop 20 and brought downwardly and secured to the ring 12, as shown in Fig. 4. The attachment may also be dispensed with in connection with the form of saddle shown in Fig. 1 by connecting the stirrupstrap 21 to an elongated link 22, having a stra 23 secured to it and slidably mounted in t e saddle-loop 24. The strap 23 may be buckled or otherwise secured to the saddle girth and is provided with a stop 25, which is secured transversely thereof and projects from the edges of the strap. This stop is employed to limit the upward movement of strap 23 when the stirrup 21 ,is pressed downward. The link 22 is of such width as to prevent it from passing through the saddle-loop 24, and therefore serves to limit the downward movement of strap 23. By using this means of connecting the stirrup-strap to the girth, as shown in Fig. 5, the girth can be tightened about the body of the animal by means of strap 23, and if link 22 contacts with loop 24 any additional tightening of the girth can be produced by pressing downward on the stirrups and their straps 21, so as to draw the straps 23 up through loops 24.

It will be understood that various other modifications may be employed by me, all of them, however, embodying the feature of a girth-strap which is adapted to be tightened about the body of an animal with sufiicient pressure to hold the saddle in place under ordinary conditions and in addition to said holding means having auxiliary means for further tightening the girth when downward pressure is exerted upon the stirrups.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a saddle having a loop, and a girth, of an attachment connected to the girth and having a loop slidably mounted within the loop of the saddle, and a stirrup-strap connected to one end of and supported by the loop of the attachment.

2. The combination with a saddle having a loop extending therefrom, and a girth, of an attachment connected to the girth and having a loop engaging and slidably mounted within the loop of the saddle, a stirrupstrap connected to and supported by the end of the loop of the attachment, and means for holding said strap in position at the end of the loop.

3. The combination with a saddle having a loop extending therefrom and a girth supported upon the saddle, of a stirrup-strap, a strap connected to the girth and having a loop engaging and slidably mounted upon the loop of the saddle, a keeper within the loop of the strap and a link inter osed between said keeper and the end 0 its loop, said link engaging the stirrup-strap.

4. An attachment of the character described, comprising a girth-strap having a loop at one end, a keeper positioned within the limit of the edges of said strap and within the looped portion, and a link mounted within one end of the looped portion of said strap.

-5. An attachment for saddles, comprising a strap provided with a looped portion at one end thereof, a keeper secured within the looped portion, and stirrup-supporting means assembled with the looped portion of said strap and normally engaging the keeper with in the same.

6. The combination with a saddle provided with a depending member, and a girth, of an adjustable member provided with a loop portion positioned upon said depending member and connected to said girth, and looped means positioned within the looped portion of said adjustable member and being capable of movement for causing adjustment of said adjustable member.

7; The combination with a saddle, and a girth, of an adjustable member supported by said saddle and connected to said girth, said member provided with means for limiting the girth against downward movement, and a stirrup supported by the upper end of said member.

8. The combination with a saddle rovided with a depending member, and a girth, of a slidable strap supported upon said depending member and connected at its lower end to said girth, and a stirrup-strap secured to the u per end of said slidable strap and capable of moving said strap upon the depending portion of the saddle for adjusting said girth.

9. The combination with a saddle, and a. girth, of an adjustable member carried by said saddle and connected to said girth, said member provided with a loop formed upon its upper end, a stirrup-strap provided with 

